MMA: Ranking the Top 25 Fighters UFC Should Sign Next

2011 has already been a big year for the UFC, Strikeforce and the world of mixed martial arts. The two companies have had some of their biggest events ever and have some even bigger ones on the horizon.

As the battle between the UFC and the rest of the MMA world rages on, we, as fans, look on as games are played with the rosters.

While fighters like Dan Henderson and Fabricio Werdum left the UFC in 2010, the UFC recently absorbed the WEC while bringing in top fighters of their own like “Kid” Yamamoto and Jake Shields.

Though the UFC is by far the most talent-filled roster in the world today, there are places for improvement. As the biggest promotion in the world, the UFC is constantly looking to supplement their existing roster while taking a piece from a competing organization.

This list of the top 25 fighters the UFC should sign next is kind of a “dream” list to some extent as there is no way the UFC could afford to bring all of them in, but it is also a breakdown of some of the world’s best talent outside of the Octagon.

25. Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa, Light Heavyweight

After Michael Bisping’s despicable acts at UFC 127, the UFC may very well be looking for a new face to help push the UFC brand in the U.K. 

Jimi Manuwa could be that new face.

His entertaining personality, size and skill set sets him up to be a big star in the sport, especially with him hailing from a country that truly embraces its homegrown talent.

Manuwa is 9-0 in his professional career, having finished every fight in the first or second rounds, eight by knockout and one by submission.

The UFC reportedly offered him a chance to fight at UFC 105 in Manchester, but Manuwa turned them down because he wasn’t ready yet. Now 16 months later, he may be ready to make that next step into the bright lights of the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

If the UFC does sign Manuwa, look for him to be, as his nickname says, the new “Poster Boy” for British mixed martial arts.

24. Cole Konrad, Heavyweight

Bellator’s top-ranked heavyweight is former two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion, Cole Konrad. In addition to winning two national championships, the University of Minnesota star was also the runner-up in 2005 and won the Pan American World Championship in 2005.

Though he hasn’t really faced any big names yet, Konrad’s 7-0 record speaks for itself as he won the Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament and was crowned the Bellator Heavyweight Champion in the process.

Konrad currently trains with Brock Lesnar’s DeathClutch team and seems to use some of the same techniques that Lesnar does in the cage.

Some consider Konrad’s fighting style to be boring, but for those that appreciate the powerful wrestling technique that earned him the nickname “The Polar Bear,” Konrad is a monster waiting to be unleashed on the UFC heavyweight division.

23. Dan Henderson, Light Heavyweight / Middleweight

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Legendary MMA Superstar and two time Olympic Wrestler Dan Henderson attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

It might be surprising to not see “Hendo” higher on this list, but hear me out. At this point, one could argue that the UFC may be better off leaving Henderson in Strikeforce. 

Sure, he’s easily a top fighter at both the light heavyweight and middleweight classes, but Henderson commands one of the biggest fight purses in the sport and is likely nearing the end of his career at the age of 40. 

Yes, Henderson did just defeat Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante to become the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, but he did that after losing both of his title shots in the UFC against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva.

While Henderson being Strikeforce’s Light Heavyweight Champion helps them out by having an established top star holding a title, it also helps the UFC because they can truly say that he wasn’t quite good enough to hold the belts in the UFC.

That said, Henderson is still a big name, and the UFC could really justify bringing him back eventually just to try to further crush the Strikeforce brand.

22. Eduardo Pamplona, Middleweight

At 35 years old, Eduardo Pamplona might be one of the best fighters in the world who many fans have never heard of. 

Pamplona lost his MMA debut in November 2002 but has since put together an impressive 13-1 record with his only other loss coming in a tightly contested fight with Robbie Lawler that many had him winning before Lawler scored a knockout in the third round.

Pamplona has competed in Shooto, M-1, IFL and Pancrase but is now training with Black House in hopes of getting some bigger fights in the future.

Though his career may already be nearing its end, Pamplona’s skills are very underrated, and he could make for an interesting challenger for some of the UFC’s up-and-comers.

21. Hector Lombard, Middleweight

Hector Lombard is one of the most prominent Judo practitioners in all of mixed martial arts. The fourth degree black belt competed in the 2000 Olympic games and was a multiple-time national champion as well as a world finalist in the sport.

He made the move to mixed martial arts in 2004 and has since put together a ridiculous 27-2-1 career record with his only two losses coming to Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi, both of which took place in Pride.

Lombard hasn’t lost since 2006 and is on a 20-fight win streak that includes wins over Brian Ebersole and Alexander Shlemenko.

Lombard is a borderline top 10 middleweight in the world right now and could really improve on that ranking with a strong showing in 2011.

20. Tyron Woodley, Welterweight

Undefeated former NCAA Division I All-American, Tyron Woodley, has been quietly putting together a very impressive start to his MMA career.

Still an amateur at the time, Woodley tried out for the ninth season of the UFC series The Ultimate Fighter and made it deep, as he was one of the final cuts before the show started.

That didn’t stop him from achieving his goal to be a professional fighter as Woodley went on to make his professional debut in February 2009. Since that point, Woodley has increased his record to 8-0 and has finished six opponents by way of knockout or submission.

Woodley recently signed a new deal with Strikeforce after defeating Tarec Saffiedine at ShoMMA 13. After the fight, he claimed that he should be the No. 1 contender for the welterweight title.

19. Luke Rockhold, Middleweight

He hasn’t fought in over a year now, but Luke Rockhold still has to be a consideration for the UFC and their currently very thin middleweight division.

Rockhold is 6-0 in Strikeforce and has never even gone to the second round of a fight. He was scheduled to fight both Matt Lindland and Tim Kennedy over the past few months but was pulled from both cards.

If he can get back in the cage soon and prove that he doesn’t have any rust from taking a year off, the UFC may really consider trying to bring Rockhold in.

18. Sergei Kharitonov, Heavyweight

After having fought just three times from 2008 through 2010, Sergei Kharitonov may finally be ready to make a bigger commitment to mixed martial arts as he made his Strikeforce debut in February. 

In that fight, he destroyed former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski, knocking him out in the first round of the quarterfinals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. Kharitonov also is the last man to defeat current Strikeforce and DREAM Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.

With his impressive record, Kharitonov could be a real threat in the UFC heavyweight division.

17. Pat Curran, Lightweight

Bellator’s Season 2 lightweight tournament winner, Pat Curran, is now preparing to face Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. If he wins the fight, Curran will catapult up the rankings, potentially up to a top five ranking in the world. 

Curran has wins over Toby Imada and Roger Huerta in back-to-back fights, but the win over Alvarez would be by far the biggest of his young career.

The UFC lightweight division has quite a bit of talent, but certainly, it would be good for them to add another potential title contender with BJ Penn having recently made the move to the welterweight division and Kenny Florian moving to featherweight.

16. Shane Del Rosario, Heavyweight

Former Muay Thai kickboxer, Shane del Rosario made the transition to MMA in August 2006.

He won his first fight and has since made it all the way to his current 11-0 record. His win over Lavar Johnson in his last fight was a reserve bout for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, but some would argue that he should have been one of the eight original combatants.

At 6’4” and nearly 250 pounds, del Rosario is a dangerous striker who has the potential to knock out just about anyone in the heavyweight division.

15. Marlon Sandro, Featherweight

Brazilian fighter Marlon Sandro has pushed his record to 17-2 and is the current featherweight King of Pancrase.

Though he recently lost his World Victory Road featherweight championship to Hatsu Hioki in December, he still remains the No. 6 ranked featherweight in the world, according to Sherdog.com.

Sandro recently signed with Bellator which is a big blow to the UFC as they could have used Sandro as a potential championship contender for Jose Aldo’s 145 crown.

14. Joe Warren, Featherweight

After a very successful Greco-Roman wrestling career, Joe Warren made his MMA debut in March 2009.

He jumped right into things as he fought former WEC Bantamweight Champion, Chase Beebe in the opening round of the Dream Featherweight Grand Prix tournament. Warren surprised fans by winning the fight by doctor’s stoppage at the end of the first round.

But things got even crazier in the second round when he shocked the world by defeating “Kid” Yamamoto who had not lost a fight since 2002.

Warren eventually lost to Bibiano Fernandes in the semifinal round but earned notoriety for the impressive start to his career. He has since won four straight fights and won the Bellator Featherweight Championship by defeating Joe Soto last September.

The Featherweight division could use some depth in the UFC so it’d be wise for them to bring in Warren before his career winds down. He’s 34 now and may not have many more years of competing at a high level remaining.

13. Gegard Mousasi, Light Heavyweight

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard 'The Dreamcatcher' Mousasi attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

At 30-3-1 in his career, it’s no wonder why Gegard Mousasi is ranked high on this list of fighters the UFC should sign. 

His impressive record includes wins over Jake O’Brien, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Hector Lombard and current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Mousasi was a winner of both the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Grand Prix tournaments in DREAM, held the Championship in each of those weight classes and is also a former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion.

Though he lost his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship in his first defense to “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal, Mousasi remains one of the very best light heavyweights in the world.

In February, Mousasi left his contract with M-1 Global, which may actually open the gate to him signing with the UFC, given that Dana White has gone on record as stating that the management at M-1 Global is practically impossible to deal with.

12. Hatsu Hioki, Featherweight

The highest-ranked featherweight on this list is Japanese fighter Hatsu Hioki. 

Hioki boasts a very impressive 23-4-2 mixed martial arts record with wins over Jeff Curran, Jeff Lawson, Masanori Kanehara and current UFC Featherweight No. 1 contender Mark Hominick.

But perhaps the biggest win of his career came in his last fight when he defeated the highly-touted Brazilian, Marlon Sandro, to win the SRC Featherweight title. With that win, Hioki shot up to the No. 2 ranking on Sherdog.com’s featherweight rankings, ahead of everyone other than UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.

With the UFC wanting to prove their dominance as a company, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to bring in Hioki as a big-time contender for Aldo’s crown. The company is currently giving a title shot to Mark Hominick, who is only arguably a top 10 featherweight, so perhaps some new contenders would be a good idea.

11. Ben Askren, Welterweight

As a former Olympic wrestler, Ben Askren made the transition to mixed martial arts in early 2009. He is now 7-0 in MMA and is being heralded as one of the best up-and-comers in the sport today.

He won the 2010 Bellator Welterweight tournament and went on to face Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good. Both fighters were undefeated coming into the bout, making it a very important one for worldwide rankings considerations. Aksren dominated the bout with Good, winning a unanimous decision and earning his first mixed martial arts title.

He will face UFC veteran Nick Thompson in his next fight; one which may be the most difficult of his career.

10. Roger Gracie, Light Heavyweight

Many consider Roger Gracie the top up-and-comer in mixed martial arts. The 29-year-old second degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is perhaps the best current fighter among the legendary Gracie family. 

Gracie has only fought four times in mixed martial arts but is one of the most accomplished submission grapplers in the world, having won his division at the CBJJ World Championships in an astonishing 10 out of 11 years.

He is now 4-0 in mixed martial arts, having submitted all four of his veteran opponents.

With the “Gracie” name being of obvious fame within the UFC, bringing in the man who may be the best of the bunch seems like a wise decision, especially since he is only going to pick up steam in Strikeforce if he keeps winning.

9. Antonio Silva, Heavyweight

Antonio “Big Foot” Silva recently earned the biggest win of his life. He did so by defeating former pound-for-pound king and the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter ever, Fedor Emelianenko, in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament. 

The win propelled Silva into the consensus top 10 rankings and got him major worldwide notoriety as the man who not only defeated but completely destroyed the man who many of us thought was invincible.

Silva’s tremendous size makes him a tough opponent for anyone, and he could even be a real contender for the heavyweight title in the UFC. It will be interesting to see how Silva fares in the rest of the Grand Prix tournament. If he wins it all, there is a very real chance that he may shoot up to be the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world.

8. Eddie Alvarez, Lightweight

The highest-ranked fighter outside of the UFC and Strikeforce is Bellator’s Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez.

Prior to signing on with Bellator, Alvarez had already defeated two of the top fighters in the world in Tatsuya Kawajiri and Joachim Hansen. But it was his run in the inaugural Bellator lightweight tournament that helped elevate Alvarez even further into the spotlight.

In the tournament, Alvarez defeated Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds and Toby Imada—all by submission—on his way to being crowned the tournament winner and the very first Bellator Lightweight Champion.

Since then, Alvarez has won three more fights against Katsunori Kikuno, Josh Neer and Roger Huerta. He finished each of these opponents as well and is now ranked the No. 5 lightweight in the world by Sherdog.com.

Alvarez can help his stock even more if he’s able to defeat Pat Curran at Bellator 39 in April in what will be his first official title defense since winning the Bellator Lightweight Championship in June 2009.

7. “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal, Light Heavyweight / Heavyweight

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Undefeated Light Heavyweight contender 'King Mo' Lawal attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Muhammed Lawal, better known as “King Mo” to fans, is one of the most colorful personalities in the sport. He is a former NCAA Division II National Champion wrestler and is currently ranked No. 10 in the world on Sherdog.com’s Light Heavyweight rankings.

King Mo has competed in both the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions but most notably defeated one of the world’s top light heavyweights, Gegard Mousasi, in April 2010 to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Unfortunately, his reign as King of the division didn’t last long as he lost his first title defense to Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante just four months later.

Still, Lawal is the kind of fighter who could bring even more personality to an already glowing UFC light heavyweight division and could really push himself against the best competition in the world.

6. Fedor Emelianenko, Heavyweight

If this list was created just a year ago, it would have been shocking to see Fedor Emelianenko ranked this low. In fact, it would have been shocking to see him ranked anywhere but No. 1. 

But the world has changed since June 2010 when Emelianenko was dealt the first real loss of his career in the form of a triangle from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Fabricio Werdum. Many of us looked past this loss, attributing it to Fedor simply making a mistake. But reality sunk in on February 12, 2011 when Fedor was demolished at the hands of Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.

Now with back-to-back losses on his record, one could make the case that “The Last Emperor’s” mystique may be gone, but there is still time for the UFC to capitalize on his legendary status. By matching Fedor up against Randy Couture or Brock Lesnar, the UFC would still be able to draw in a huge audience, and Dana White would be able to either prove himself right or be proven wrong by the Fedor fans around the world.

Either way, it’d be an excellent last hurrah to the greatest mixed martial artist in history.

Of course, signing Fedor is easier said than done, as the UFC has seen in the past.

5. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Middleweight

The current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, has already run through the promotion’s middleweight division. 

He made his Strikeforce debut in December  2009 at Strikeforce: Evolution, submitting former Olympic wrestler Matt Lindland in the first round of the fight. He went on to win a decision over Joey Villaseñor before defeating Tim Kennedy to win the vacant Strikeforce Middleweight Championship in August 2010.

Jacare won his first title defense in January against the very talented Robbie Lawler in a fight that helped propel him into the No. 5 ranking on Sherdog’s World Middleweight Rankings. Souza is the highest-ranked non-UFC fighter on the list.

The only problem with bringing Souza would be that he trains with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, so an eventual fight between the two men seems very unlikely.

But with Rashad Evans and Jon Jones recently agreeing to fight one another, “If it’s for the title,” we may see a similar situation with Jacare and Silva.

4. Fabricio Werdum, Heavyweight

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LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 01: Mixed martial artist Fabricio Werdum arrives at the third annual Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2010 at the Palms Casino Resort December 1, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

As the first man to ever (legitimately) defeat Fedor Emelianenko in an MMA contest, Fabricio Werdum added to his already impressive career resume. A resume which includes wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Brandon Vera, Mike Kyle, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva, Aleksander Emelianenko and current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.

Werdum is currently ranked as one of, if not the, top-ranked heavyweight in the world outside of the UFC and is one of the favorites to win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.

He did have a four-fight run in the UFC but was cut following a surprising loss at the time to Junior Dos Santos.

The UFC would be wise to bring him back, especially if he’s able to defeat Alistair Overeem in the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix tournament.

3. Gilbert Melendez, Lightweight

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HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 17: Strikeforce World Lightweight Champion Gilbert 'El Nino' Melendez attends the CBS' Strikeforce MMA Fighters Open Media Workout on March 17, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Strikeforce recently delivered a big blow to the UFC when they were able to resign the world’s No. 2 ranked lightweight, Gilbert Melendez, to a multi-fight deal. 

Of course, Melendez himself would take offense to me calling him the No. 2 ranked fighter, as he himself has stated that he believes he is the No. 1 fighter in the world—and really, it’s hard to disagree with him.

With a 19-2 career record, Melendez has defeated some of the top lightweights in the world and made it look fairly easy. In back-to-back fights in 2009 and 2010, Melendez redeemed himself against the only two fighters to have beaten him in his career, Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson.

In his most recent fight, Gilbert embarrassed Japanese consensus top-five lightweight and current DREAM Lightweight Champion, Shinya Aoki.

The UFC’s lightweight division is stacked, but adding Melendez would certainly help with proving that their champion is indeed the best on the planet.

2. Alistair Overeem, Heavyweight

The current Strikeforce and DREAM Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem has really established himself as one of the world’s top-ranked heavyweight outside of the UFC. 

Though he hasn’t really defeated any true top contenders in the heavyweight division, the way he has been winning has been absolutely astonishing. During his current nine-fight winning streak, Overeem has finished every opponent, eight of which have not made it out of the first round.

The “Demolition Man” is an incredibly dangerous striker who has put on muscle mass to inch closer to the 265-pound weight limit. His shocking body transformation actually has quite a few people questioning whether he did it naturally or if he was “science-assisted” in the form of steroids or HGH.

Overeem has passed his drug tests, though, and the UFC would be wise to bring him in to add to their already very strong heavyweight division.

1. Nick Diaz, Welterweight

The top name on this list is former UFC star and current Strikeforce Welterweight Champion, Nick Diaz. 

Diaz is widely regarded as one of the very top fighters in the world, both in the welterweight division and in the pound-for-pound rankings. His combination of boxing skills, wrestling and his world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu make him a dangerous opponent for anyone.

At this point, Georges St. Pierre has completely destroyed the welterweight division, forcing the UFC to bring in Jake Shields as the only real contender for the belt. If St. Pierre beats Shields, who is there left for St. Pierre to face at the welterweight division? He really only has rematches left against guys he has destroyed in the past.

Nick Diaz would bring a fresh face to the division and a real contender as someone who could stand with and may even be able to submit St. Pierre from his back.

Sure, St. Pierre would still be a big favorite, but at least Diaz would be a new opponent.